Chapter 76: A Timely Rain
Chapter 76: A Timely Rain
The news of Sun Xun's gambling and theft from the factory spread like wildfire. Soon, word reached the management, and people demanded his dismissal for such deplorable behavior.
Upon hearing this, Sun Xun's wife, Liu Xiaoyue, fell into a state of despair and fainted. When she regained consciousness, she clung to her eldest son, weeping bitterly. Sun Xun's impending dismissal meant they would have to vacate their residence. Amidst her distress, she managed to obtain a hundred yuan from Sun Xun, but their recent expenses, coupled with the illnesses of her younger son and daughter, had already depleted over sixty yuan. With only a little over thirty yuan left, she faced the daunting task of supporting her children and finding a new place to live. As these thoughts overwhelmed her, her despair deepened, and her sobs grew louder. Her anguish was contagious, and soon, her other children joined in, unable to hold back their tears.
In the midst of their sorrowful embrace, someone knocked on the door. The visitor filled Liu Xiaoyue's heart with a profound sense of desolation.
A distant relative of the visitor was unable to conceive and was seeking to adopt a child. Because of their favorable financial situation, the man had specific requirements—he wanted a smart, good-looking boy. After an exhaustive search, they had heard about Liu Xiaoyue's younger son and had their hearts set on him. They had approached her once before but were turned down. Now, with the news of Sun Xun's arrest, they hurried back, eager to secure the adoption before anyone else could.
Given her family's dire circumstances, Liu Xiaoyue feared that her children might starve. Yet, the thought of parting with one of them tore at her heartstrings, and she could only choke out that she would consider it.
The potential adopters left, their faces beaming with joy.
As evening fell, a visitor brought news to Liu Xiaoyue. The factory had convened a meeting and decided to dismiss Sun Xun. The official notification would be posted in the morning, and she would be expected to vacate the residence. They advised her to prepare for the inevitable.
Liu Xiaoyue found herself taking life one step at a time, one day at a time. With no other options, she persevered, driven by her love for her children.
After seeing the visitor out, she sat motionless on a stool, lost in her thoughts. It was only when her youngest daughter began to cry that she snapped back to reality and wiped away her tears to prepare dinner.
After the meal, the four older children obediently went to bed, while she tended to the younger two. Once they were all asleep, she reached into her dowry chest and pulled out a handkerchief. With the purchase of grain that day, she now had only thirty-three yuan left.
With seven mouths to feed, this money would last a month at most. Was she truly considering giving up her fifth and sixth children? They were flesh of her flesh, and the thought of letting them go broke her heart.
Her eldest son, Sun Dong, suddenly climbed down from his bed and sat beside her. He took her hand and said, "Mom, don't worry. I'll help you earn money to support my younger brothers and sisters."
Liu Xiaoyue hugged him tightly, stifling her sobs so as not to wake the other children. Her tears fell silently.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door. Liu Xiaoyue wiped her tears and called out, "Who is it?"
It was late, and she wondered who could be visiting at this hour.
There was no response from outside, but the knocking continued.
Sun Dong picked up a kitchen knife and approached the door. Their dwelling was an abandoned storeroom next to the warehouse, located in a secluded area. No one would choose to live here unless they had no other choice.
Liu Xiaoyue was diligent and hardworking. She had cleared the room of clutter and tidied up the exterior, making it a desirable option for those struggling with housing shortages.
She held Sun Dong back, saying, "Don't be afraid. If there really are bad people out there, just shout loudly, understand?"
"This is a rather remote location, but it's still within the factory grounds, and there are night shift workers and security guards patrolling the area. If he shouts for help, someone will come to his aid soon enough."
"Okay."
What mother and son didn't expect was that when they opened the door, no one was there. However, two large bags were left at the doorstep.
Sun Dong was astonished. "Mom, this..."
But Liu Xiaoyue was quick-witted. "Don't talk, let's bring these bags inside."
They carried the two large bags into the house, and Liu Xiaoyue quickly shut and locked the door. She lit a candle and began to untie the ropes on the bags.
One bag contained white flour, and the other was filled with rice. Inside the rice bag was also a small blue cloth bag.
Seeing the flour and rice, Liu Xiaoyue's tears flowed once more. She had no idea who had sent these provisions, but such fine food was too precious to eat. She planned to exchange it for coarse grain the next day. With that, she could forage for discarded vegetable leaves at the market or dig for wild vegetables to stretch the coarse grain for two to three months.
Sun Dong opened the blue cloth bag and found a newspaper at the top, beneath which was a stack of one-hundred-yuan notes. He exclaimed, "Mom, look..."
Liu Xiaoyue was stunned by the sight of so much money. "This... this..."
After calming down, the mother and son counted the money and found a total of five hundred one-hundred-yuan notes, amounting to five thousand yuan. In her entire life, Liu Xiaoyue had never seen so much money.
Sun Dong asked in a trembling voice, "Mom, now that we have this money, do we not have to send away my younger brother and sister?"
He knew their family finances were dire, and once they spent what little they had left, they would have no means to feed themselves. Many people had come to inquire about his younger siblings lately, and though he was extremely reluctant to part with them, he understood that the family could no longer afford to keep them and that sending them away might be their best chance at survival.
Liu Xiaoyue came back to her senses and held the money tightly in her hands as she whispered, "Don't worry, I won't send away Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu."
With this money, she could raise all six of her children.
Liu Xiaoyue picked up the newspaper but couldn't read it, so she handed it to Sun Dong. "What does this newspaper say?"
Sun Dong had dropped out of school in the fourth grade, but he could still read the newspaper without issue. However, the headline confused him.
Liu Xiaoyue asked, "Dongzi, what does this newspaper article say?"
It was actually a cut-out article from a newspaper, with the title, 'Individual Household Zhang Huamei - Reform and Opening Up Gave Me Opportunities and Courage.'
After Sun Dong finished reading the article, he looked at his mother with a puzzled expression. "Mom, what does our benefactor mean by this?"
Liu Xiaoyue thought for a moment, wiped her tears, and said, "Our benefactor is showing us a way forward, suggesting that I become a self-employed trader."
She knew she had to buy a house, preferably one with a private courtyard, to avoid future troubles. But with a house, she would also need to find a job to support her six children, as their daily expenses for food and drink alone would be substantial, not to mention the cost of sending them to school. She couldn't rely solely on her meager earnings from taking care of the old lady, especially since her relatives often caused trouble and prevented her from returning home at night. She had tolerated that situation due to a lack of options, but now she was determined to quit.
Sun Dong's eyes lit up. "Mom, your steamed buns and spicy soup are so delicious. If you set up a stall, I'm sure you'll make a lot of money!"
Liu Xiaoyue thought it was worth a try. Setting up a stall didn't require much capital, and even if she made a loss, it wouldn't be a significant setback. She could always explore other options later.
With Lu Jiaxin's covert assistance, Liu Xiaoyue embarked on her journey as a street vendor two years earlier than she would have otherwise, and her third child, the twin boy, was spared an early death, while the twins were not sent away.
(End of Chapter)
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